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SACRAMENTO – A key Senate committee on Tuesday passed a bill by Patty Berg that would protect Californians from the kind of red tape snafus that slowed the flow of emergency aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina.
“Californians do not need red tape during disasters,” said Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka. “My bill will prevent this by allowing doctors and nurses to help Californians in their time of need.”
Under Assembly Bill 64, California officials would recognize out-of-state medical licenses of emergency volunteers during a declared state emergency. The bill would establish a system where California medical professionals can also register their credentials so they can help fellow Americans in other states.
During the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, volunteer doctors and nurses were prevented from giving aid because they did not have Louisiana or Mississippi medical licenses. One such volunteer, Robert Edinger, told the Lexington Herald Journal that he was unable to help Hurricane Katrina victims on the gulf coast because he lacked a Mississippi nursing license.
“We must prevent the horrors of red tape during the Hurricane Katrina relief effort from happening in California,” said Berg. “Californians must never wait entire days or weeks for help when it is a life and death situation.”
Assembly Bill 64 is part of a national effort to create a national registry where medical professionals, dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists and members of the funeral home industry can help in other states besides their home state. Kentucky and Colorado have enacted similar legislation.
The California Nurses Association, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the California Association of Physician Groups, the California Dental Association, the Humane Society of the United States, the California Society of Health System Pharmacists, the California Federation for Animal Legislation, the California Professional Firefighters Association, and the Regional Council of Rural Counties support the bill.
The Senate Governmental Organization Committee voted unanimously in favor of AB 64. It now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Visit Berg's Web site at http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a01/.
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WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Congressman Mike Thompson joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues in opposition of efforts to expand domestic offshore oil and gas drilling.
As they do each year, proponents of offshore drilling attempted to lift the current congressional moratorium on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) through amendments in an appropriations bill.
Thompson and his allies criticized this proposal as dangerous and unnecessary, and they urged their colleagues to vote against them. The amendments will be voted on in the next few days.
"Lifting the moratorium on new drilling could result in disastrous economic and environmental consequences," said Thompson. "Yet it will do nothing to reduce our dependency on oil and gas."
The moratorium on OCS drilling has been a bipartisan agreement in Congress for 25 years, and it has been renewed annually since 1982.
However, the moratorium has come under regular attack, which is why Thompson recently introduced a bill to permanently protect the North Coast from drilling.
The Northern California Ocean and Coastal Protection Act (H.R. 2758) will permanently prohibit oil and gas drilling off the coasts of Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.
"California's North Coast would be especially vulnerable if the moratorium was lifted," added Thompson. "Drilling off the North Coast would threaten our marine life and cause our local economy to suffer."
The North Coast is part of a unique upwelling zone, one of only four in the world. These zones support incredibly abundant and productive marine life, which local fishing communities depend on.
The North Coast also supports a large tourism industry vital to local and state economies that is dependent upon its pristine cove and beaches and spectacular views.
"Every year, there are attacks against the moratorium, and I'm afraid that one day it might be lifted," said Thompson. "An oil spill off our beautiful North Coast would be devastating. My bill will make sure that never happens."
On Thursday, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will review Thompson's bill.
Watch Rep. Mike Thompson speak on the House floor: http://recap.fednet.net/archive/Buildasx.asp?sProxy=80_hflr062607_062.wmv,80_hflr062607_063.wmv&sTime=00:02:42.0&eTime=00:00:37&duration=00:02:55.0&UserName=anne%252E&sLocation=&sExpire=1.
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